^7 


JJ 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 
UNIVERSITY    EXTENSION 


SYLLABUS 


THE  ENLIGHTENED  DESPOTISM  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY  IN  EUROPE 


H.   MORSE   STEPHENS 


BERKELEY:   THE    UNIVERSITY   PRESS 
OCTOBER,  1905 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 
UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION 


SYLLABUS 

OF  A 

Course  of  Twelve  Lectures 


ON 


THE  ENLIGHTENED  DESPOTISM  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY  IN  EUROPE 


BY 

H.  MORSE  STEPHENS 


.  ;i'  ''''HV'i 


BERKELEY:  THE   UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
OCTOBER, 1905 


LIST  OF  LECTURES.  ^^    x 


1 . — The  Period  and  the  Characteristics  of  the  Enlightened  Despotism 
in  Europe  during  the  Eighteenth  Century;  Administrative 
Reform ;  the  Despots  and  their  Ministers. 

2.— Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia;  Efforts  for  Material  Prosperity. 
3. — Catherine  of  Russia;  Codification  and  Legal  Reform. 
4. — Joseph  of  Austria;  Toleration  in  Religion. 

5. — The  Despots  and  their  Ministers  in  Southern  Europe;  the 
Grand  Duke  Leopold  of  Tuscany,  Tanucci  in  Naples, 
Charles  III  of  Spain,  Pombal  in  Portugal. 

6.— The  Despots  and  their  Ministers  in  Northern  Europe;  Gustavus 
III  of  Sweden,  Struensee  and  Bernstorff  in  Denmark,  the 
Margrave  Charles  Frederick  of  Baden. 

7. — Voltaire,  the  Champion  of  Humanitarianism. 

8.— The  Campaign  against  Serfdom  and  Infringements  of  Personal 
Liberty . 

9.— The  Physiocrats ;  Attempts  to  Abolish  Restrictions  on  the 
Freedom  of  Industry  and  Trade;  Turgot. 

10.— Efforts  k^  Aid  the  Affliqtfeci;  ^Improvement  in  the  Treatment  of 
the  Insane,  the  Deaf-Mu'tfes  ^nd  the  Blind  ;  Hospital  Reform. 

1 1 . — Efforts  to  Aid  the  Unfortunate  ;   Prison  Reform  ;  the  Problem 
of  Mendicancy;  Count  Rumford  in  Bavaria. 

12.— Development    of    Education;    Organization    of    Charity;    the 
Transition  from  Medieval  to  Modern  Society. 


THE  ENLIGHTENED  DESPOTISM  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY  IN  EUROPE. 


LECTURE  ONE. 

The  Period  and  Characteristics  of  the  Enlightened 

Despotism  in  Europe  during  the  Eighteenth 

Century;  Administrative  Reform;  the 

Despots  and  their  Ministers. 

The  change  of  attitude  of  modem  historians  with  re- 
gard to  the  history  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  Europe; 
abandonment  of  the  idea  that  the  French  Revolution  inaug- 
urated modern  civilization ;  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the 
French  Revolution  marked  the  culmination  of  a  period  and 
not  the  beginning  of  a  new  era. 

The  reforms  of  the  eighteenth  century,  which  mark 
the  transition  from  medieval  to  modern  civilization,  were 
the  work  of  enlightened  but  despotic  rulers,  or  of  enlight- 
ened ministers,  sustained  by  despotic  rulers ;  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  the  last  of  the  enlightened  despots. 

The  term  ''enlightened  despotism"  first  used  by  Ger- 
man writers  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century;  the 
German  words  Aufgekldrte  Despotismus  translated  into 
French  as  despotisme  eclaire  and  later  into  English  as  en- 
lightened despotism. 

Application  of  the  word  despotism;  the  belief  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  rulers  knew  what  was  good  for  the. 
people  better  than  the  people  themselves;  the  thorough 
belief  in  the  arbitrary  government  of  a  wise  and  good  man 
as  more  conducive  to  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  a 
people  than  self-government;  the  belief  of  the  despots  in 

416J59 


their  mission ;  the  ideals  of  paternal  government ;  tender  or 
contemptuous  attitude  of  rulers  towards  their  subjects. 

The  declaration  of  Louis  XIV  of  France  ''I  am  the 
State"  typical  of  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury; the  declaration  of  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia 
' '  I  am  the  First  Servant  of  the  State ' '  typical  of  the  eight- 
eenth century. 

The  characteristics  of  the  despotism  of  the  eigliteenth 
century  which  entitled  it  to  be  called  enlightened ;  the 
belief -in -expert  and  sympathetic  administration,  the  efforts 
made  to  promote  material  prosperity,  the  abolition  of  medi- 
eval shackles  on  freedom  of  labor  and  trade,  the  assertion 
of  individual  liberty,  the  simplification  of  law  and  legal 
procedure,  the  advancement  of  the  theory  of  religious  toler- 
ation, and  the  recognition  of  the  duty  of  the  State  to  aid 
the  afflicted  and  the  unfortunate  and  to  develop  popular 
education. 

The  enlightened  despots  could  only  carry  out  their  re- 
forms through  a  well  organized  system  of  administration; 
the  rise  of  the  expert  administrator;  disappearance  of  the 
power  of  the  European  aristocracy ;  administrative  reforms ; 
growth  of  administrative  efficiency ;  in  this  respect  Napo- 
leon was  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  enlightened  adminis- 
trators. 

The  period  of  the  enlightened  despotism  was  contem- 
porary with  the  American  Revolution,  but  the  two  sets 
of  ideas  had  no  relation  to  each  other;  the  form  of  the 
English  government  prevented  the  establishment  of  des- 
potism in  Great  Britain;  in  France,  where  the  ideas  of 
enlightenment  were  most  successfully  formulated,  the  weak- 
ness of  the  despot  prevented  their  being  carried  into  effect ; 
the  most  thorough-going  reforms  were  effected  in  the  more 
backward  states  of  Europe,  in  Germany,  Italy,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Russia,  Spain  and  Portugal. 

The  dates  of  the  principal  enlightened  despots  show 
the  European  character  of  the  movement  for  reform ;  Fred- 


erick  the  Great,  King  of  Prussia  (king  1740-1786,  but 
engaged  in  war  to  1763)  ;  Catherine,  Empress  of  Russia 
(1762-1796)  ;  the  Emperor  Joseph  (Emperor,  1765-1790, 
but  ruler  of  the  Austrian  dominions,  1780-1790)  ;  Charles 
III,  King  of  Spain  (1759-1788)  ;  Gustavus  III,  King  of 
Sweden  (1771-1792)  ;  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  of  Tuscany 
(1765-1790)  ;  the  Margrave  Charles  Frederick  of  Baden 
(1771-1811). 

In  some  countries  the  work  of  reform  was  carried  on 
by  enlightened  ministers ;  the  most  important  of  these  were : 
the  Marquis  of  Pombal  in  Portugal  (1750-1777)  ;  Bernardo 
Tanucci  in  Naples  (1734-1776)  ;  Du  Tillot  in  Parma  (1749- 
1771)  ;  Struensee  (1770-1772)  and  Andrew  Bernstorff 
(1772-1780,  1784-1795)  in  Denmark;  Turgot  in  France 
(1774r-1776). 

The  result  of  a  study  6f  the  period  of  the  enlightened 
despotism  brings  out  the  fact  that  the  social,  economic  and 
humanitarian  reforms  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  the 
work  of  enlightened  rulers,  who  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  idea  of  popular  government;  these  things  were  accom- 
plished in  France  in  conjunction  with  the  new  idea  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people,  but,  though  the  reforms  lasted, 
the  idea  of  popular  sovereignty  went  down  under  the  stress 
of  defending  the  national  existence  and  made  way  for  the 
enlightened  despotism  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon. 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

There  are  no  books  in  English  devoted  to  the  enlightened  despotism 
in  Europe. 


LECTURE  TWO. 

Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia;  Efforts  for  Material 

Prosperity. 

Frederick  the   Great,  King  of  Prussia,  was  the  most 
important  of  the  enlightened  despots  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 


tury;  the  fame  he  acquired  as  a  soldier  during  the  first 
half  of  his  reign  caused  him  to  be  taken  as  a  model  by 
other  rulers  during  the  second  half  of  his  reign. 

Frederick  the  Great  (born  January  24,  1712)  succeeded 
his  father  as  King  of  Prussia  (May  31,  1740)  ;  his  unhappy 
life  as  Crown  Prince ;  his  training  and  character ;  his  stud- 
ies; his  literary  and  philosophic  tastes;  his  genius  as  a 
general  and  a  military  organizer ;  the  first  half  of  his  reign 
taken  up  with  war  and  diplomacy;  T^ar_ofjtlLe  .Austrian 
_Succession  (1740-48). ;  ^even^.  Jeers'  War  (1756-1763); 
the  period  of  reform  (1763-86). 

The  internal  administration  of  Frederick:  his  measures 
for  restoring  prosperity ;  paternal  government ;  Frederick 's 
attitude  towards  agriculture,  manufactures  and  commerce; 
his  attempt  to  improve  farming;  distribution  of  seeds  and 
introduction  of  the  potato ;  his  encouragement  of  colonists ; 
establishment  of  '  4and-banks " ;  Frederick  regarded  the 
material  prosperity  of  the  people  as  the  chief  aim  of  his 
administration. 

Frederick 's  conception  of  monarchy :  his  understanding 
of  the  ' '  Auf geklarte  Despotismus " ;  he  held  that  his  abso- 
lutism could  be  justified  only  by  earnest  work  for  the  good 
of  the  people. 

The  administrative  machinery  created  by  Frederick  the 
Great:  following  his  father's  example,  he  confided  the 
administration  to  a  bureaucracy  composed  of  men  of  the 
middle  class  and  dependent  entirely  upon  himself;  com- 
parison between  the  French  and  the  Prussian  bureaucra- 
cies: the  former  hindered,  while  the  latter  promoted,  gen- 
eral prosperity  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  be- 
cause Prussia  was  more  backward  in  civilization  than 
France. 

Frederick  the  Great's  attitude  towards  his  nobility:  he 
employed  nobles  in  the  army  rather  than  in  the  civil  service, 
and  formed  them  into  a  military  caste.  , 


Frederick  the  Great  and  serfdom:  he  maintained  the 
authority  of  the  nobles  upon  their  estates  as  part  of  the 
compensation  for  excluding  them  from  political  power  and 
as  an  inducement  to  them  to  continue  their  services  in  the 
army ;  but  he  endeavored  to  abolish  or  reduce  the  harshness 
of  serfdom  on  the  royal  domains. 

Frederick  the  Great  considered  as  a  typical  enlight- 
ened despot  of  the  eighteenth  century:  (1)  his  great  public 
works,  as  the  making  of  canals  and  roads,  the  draining  of 
marshes  and  the  improvement  of  Berlin;  (2)  his  endeavors 
to  simplify  and  codify  the  system  of  laws  in  the  Codex 
Fredericiana,  the  work  of  the  Chancellor  Cocceji;  (3)  he 
discouraged  all  idea  of  local  or  municipal  self-government ; 

(4)  he  insisted  upon  absolute  toleration  of  religious  wor- 
ship while  ready  to  pose  as  the  protector  of  Protestantism ; 

(5)  he  established  a  system  of  compulsory  primary  edu- 
cation. 

Frederick  the  Great  differed  from  the  other  enlightened 
despots  in  his  neglect  of  national  higher  education  and  in 
his  refusal  to  adopt  the  new  economic  ideas  in  collecting  his 
revenue. 

The  efforts  of  Frederick  the  Great  for  the  promotion 
of  the  material  prosperity  of  his  subjects  were  imitated 
by  the  other  enlightened  rulers ;  in  the  undertaking  of  great 
public  works  Catherine,  Joseph  and  Charles  III  of  Spain 
were  particularly  zealous;  they  were  great  road  makers 
and  bridge  builders ;  they  all  encouraged  agriculture ;  influ- 
ence of  the  Physiocrats  in  this  development. 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

The  books  in  English  on  Frederick  the  Great,  such  as  Carlyle 
''History  of  Frederick  the  Great,"  are  almost  entirely  devoted  to 
his  military  career,  but  most  of  them  give  a  little  space  to  his  peace 
reforms.  The  great  literature  in  German  upon  this  subject  has  not 
yei  been  transmuted  into  English. 


LECTURE  THREE. 

Catherine  of  Russia ;  Codification  and  Legal  Reform. 

The  Empress  Catherine  of  Russia  as  an  enlightened 
despot;  the  particular  difficulty  of  her  position;  the  back- 
wardness of  the  Russian  people;  the  absence  of  educated 
men  for  the  work  of  administration;  the  absence  of  a 
middle  class;  her  situation  as  a  foreigner  and  as  respon- 
sible for  the  murder  of  her  husband;  the  advantages  of 
her  position ;  the  acceptance  of  the  autocratic  idea  by  the 
Russian  people. 

The  personality  of  Catherine  the  Great ;  born  a  princess 
of  Anhalt-Zerbst  (1729)  ;  her  marriage  to  the  Grand  Duke 
Peter  (1745)  ;  her  life  at  the  court  of  her  husband's  aunt, 
the  Empress  Elizabeth;  accession  of  her  husband  as  the 
Tsar  Peter  III  (January  5,  1762)  ;  overthrow  of  Peter  III 
(July  9,  1762)  and  his  murder  (July  17). 

The  character  of  Catherine  the  Great;  her  court;  her 
habits ;  her  despotism ;  her  enlightenment ;  vigor  of  her  in- 
tellect ;  immorality  of  her  life. 

Catherine  the  Great 's  administration  of  the  Russian  Em- 
pire: she  followed  the  ideas  of  Peter  the  Great  in  ruling 
through  a  bureaucratic  system  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
will  of  the  ruler  and  consisting  chiefly  of  foreigners,  but 
she  preserved  the  attachment  of  the  Russian  people  by 
meeting  the  national  wishes  for  territorial  expansion. 

Catherine  summoned  an  assembly  from  all  parts  and  all 
classes  of  the  Empire  to  draw  up  a  code  of  laws  (1766-68), 
but  Russia  was  not  sufficiently  advanced  in  civilization  for 
such  a  benefit. 

Catherine  the  Great 's  administration  of  the  Russian  Em- 
pire; division  into  forty-four  governments,  in  the  place  of 
the  eight  of  Peter  the  Great;  subdivision  into  districts; 
the  assemblies  of  the  nobility;  liberal  treatment  of  the 
cities,  which  were  given  municipal  independence ;  forma- 
tion of  courts  of  justice  for  the  nobles,  the  bourgeois  and 


the  free  peasants  in  eacli  district  and  government,  with 
final  appeal  to  the  Senate;  resumption  of  the  lands  and 
serfs  of  the  Church,  the  profits  from  which,  after  payment 
of  the  monks,  were  used  for  educational  and  charitable 
purposes ;  general  religious  tolerance  shown  even  to  Muham- 
madans  and  Jesuits. 

Catherine's  great  public  works:  she  made  canals  and 
improved  agriculture  and  means  of  communication;  she 
encouraged  commerce  and  manufactures ;  her  commercial 
treaties  with  England  and  France;  establishment  of  Ger- 
man colonies;  foundation  of  new  cities. 

Catherine  and  the  intellectual  development  of  Russia :  I 
she  founded  the  Russian  Academy  (1783)  and  encouraged 
foreigners  to  visit  and  describe  her  country ;  like  Frederick 
the  Great,  she  kept  in  touch  with  the  intellectual  move- 
ment of  Western  Europe ;  her  friendship  with  Diderot  and 
correspondence  with  Grimm. 

Attitude  of  Catherine  towards  serfdom :  she  endeavored 
to  regulate  but  not  abolish  itf  she  forbade  the  public  sale 
of  serfs  or  the  separation  of  families;  the  case  of  Daria 
Soltikov. 

Catherine's  method  of  government:  she  kept  the  direc- 
tion of  affairs  in  her  own  hands ;  her  diligence  and  insight ; 
her  attitude  towards  her  ministers  and  her  lovers. 

Catherine  and  her  court :  she  made  use  of  her  discarded 
lovers  in  the  management  of  affairs;  the  importance  of 
the  Orlovs  (1762-72),  and  of  Potemkin  (1774-76);  her 
wisdom  in  selecting  her  lovers  from  among  the  Russians 
and  not  from  foreigners. 

Catherine's  zeal  in  carrying  out  the  plans  of  Peter  the 
Great  and  in  fulfilling  the  ambitions  of  the  Russian  people 
in  foreign  politics  kept  the  Russians,  and  even  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Old  Russian  party,  faithful  to  her  in  spite  of 
her  being  a  German  and  of  her  maintenance  of  Western 
ideas;  her  adherence  to  Russian  ideals  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  her  power. 


10 


The  attempt  of  Catherine  the  Great  to  make  a  code  of 
laws  for  Russia  and  to  improve  judicial  procedure  typical 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Many  projects  of  legal  and  judicial  reform:  promulga- 
tion of  codes  of  law,  in  which  work  Frederick  the  Great 
of  Prussia,  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  of  Tuscany,  Maximi- 
lian Joseph  of  Bavaria,  and  Frederick  Augustus,  Elector 
of  Saxony,  were  especially  distinguished;  reforms  in  judi- 
cial administration  by  the  abolition  of  torture  and  the 
introduction  of  more  humane  methods  of  punishment;  im- 
provement in  this  respect  was  shown  in  the  work  of  all  the 
enlightened  despots,  owing  chiefly  to  the  influence  of  Vol- 
taire and  Beccaria;  effect  of  the  publication  of  Beccaria's 
Dei  deMtti  e  della  pene  (1764),  Montesquieu's  Esprit  des 
lois  (1748),  and  Filangieri's  Scienza  della  legislazione 
(1780). 

BOOKS    KECOMMENDED. 

The  various  books  on  Catherine  in  English  are  more  occupied 
with  her  strange  personality  and  her  wars  for  the  expansion  of 
Eussia  than  with  her  reforms,  but  something  can  be  gleaned  from 
such  works  as  Eambaud,  "History  of  Eussia,"  and  Morfill,  ''Story 
of  Eussia,"  and  from  the  lively  works  of  Waliszewski,  "The'Eomance 
of  an  Empress"  and  ''Around  a  Throne." 


LECTURE  FOUR. 

Joseph  of  Austria;  Toleration  in  Religion. 

The  enlightened  despotism  in  the  Austrian  dominions; 
the  reign  of  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa  (1740-1780)  ;  her 
character;  her  conservatism  in  administration;  her  piety; 
her  genuine  sympathy  with  her  people ;  her  court ;  her  hus- 
band, the  Emperor  Francis  I;  her  sons  and  daughters; 
her  widowhood  (1765)  ;  the  restraint  she  exercised  over 
her  son  Joseph  during  the  last  fifteen  years  of  her  life. 

On  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Francis  I  (August  18, 
1765)  his  eldest  son,  Joseph  II,  was  elected  Emperor,  while 


11 


his  second  son,  the  Archduke  Leopold,  succeeded  him  as 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany. 

Character  and  training  of  Joseph  II :  for  fifteen  years 
he  held  the  position  of  Emperor  without  being  ruler  of 
the  Austrian  dominions ;  difficulties  of  this  position ;  his 
endeavors  to  make  the  power  of  the  Emperor  more  of  a 
reality;  his  interference  in  foreign  affairs;  his  admiration 
for  Frederick  the  Great  followed  by  a  still  greater  admira- 
tion for  the  Tsaritsa  Catherine. 

Death  of  Maria  Theresa  (November  29,  1780)  and  acces- 
sion of  Joseph  II  to  the  Austrian  dominions. 

The  Emperor  Joseph  II  in  many  ways  the  most,  typical 
of  the  enlightened  despots ;  his  personality ;  his  ardent  de- 
sire to  improve  the  condition  of  his  people ;  the  three  vices 
which  led  to  the  failure  of  his  schemes  for  reform :  ( 1 )  his 
desire  to  do  everything  for  the  people  and  not  by  the 
people;  (2)  his  wish  to  weld  the  Austrian  dominions  into 
a  homogeneous  realm  like  France,  or  an  administrative 
entity  like  Prussia  and  Russia;  (3)  the  rapidity  with  which 
he  forced  his  reforms  on  the  people  without  any  prepa- 
ration. 

Joseph  II  's  national  reforms :  his  attempts  to  unify  and 
centralize  the  administration ;  he  made  German  the  official 
language  in  the  home  dominions  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg; 
he  endeavored  to  destroy  all  local  franchises  and  to  estab- 
lish the  same  system  throughout  his  dominions ;  his  efforts 
for  administrative  and  judicial  unity  and  regularity;  he 
divided  his  dominions  into  thirteen  governments,  subdi- 
vided into  circles;  in  each  government  he  established  a 
court  of  justice  with  two  chambers,  one  for  the  nobility 
and  one  for  the  bourgeoisie;  in  each  circle  there  was  ap- 
pointed an  official  to  execute  justice  and  protect  the 
peasants. 

Joseph  II 's  religious  reform^;  he  issued  an  edict  of 
toleration,  permitting  freedom  of  thought  and  worship 
(1781)  ;  the  visit  of  Pope  Pius  VI  to  Vienna  (1782)  ;  Jo- 


12 


seph  II  suppressed  numerous  convents  and  religious  orders, 
and  endeavored  to  reform  the  administration  of  the 
Church ;  he  freed  the  Jews  from  their  disabilities  and  per- 
mitted them  to  enter  the  army;  he  endeavored  to  make 
education  secular  and  to  take  it  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Church. 

Joseph  II 's  attack  upon  infringements  of  personal  lib- 
erty: he  abolished  serfdom  in  Bohemia  (1781),  in  Carin- 
thia,  Carniola  and  the  Breisgau  (1782),  and  in  Hungary 
(August  22,  1785),  and  inaugurated  a  system  for  removing 
feudal  burdens  and  forced  labor;  he  abolished  all  guilds 
and  corporations  interfering  with  freedom  of  labor. 

Joseph  II 's  efforts  to  improve  the  intellectual  condition 
of  his  people :  he  established  a  system  of  primary  education 
and  freed  the  press  from  the  censorship  (1781). 

Joseph  II 's  encouragement  of  public  works  and  im- 
provement of  means  of  communication. 

Joseph  II  's  encouragement  of  trade  and  commerce :  his 
endeavors  to  obtain  from  the  Dutch  the  freedom  of  the 
River  Scheldt. 

Joseph  II 's  fiscal  reforms:  his  endeavors  to  introduce 
the  physiocratic  principles  of  taxation. 

The  result  of  Joseph  II 's  reforms  was  to  rouse  discon- 
tent and  even  rebellion  throughout  his  dominions ;  the  Hun- 
garian magnates  were  disgusted  at  his  freeing  the  serfs 
and  all  the  Magyars  at  his  attempts  at  Germanization ;  the 
Czechs  in  Bohemia  were  apprehensive  that  his  reforms 
would  crush  them  further;  the  Tyrolese  were  in  a  ferment 
at  his  measures  against  the  Church,  and  the  Belgians  were 
forced  into  open  rebellion,  both  by  his  interference  with 
their  local  government  and  by  his  measures  against  the 
Catholic  Church. 

The  failure  of  Joseph  and  its  significance ;  death  of  the 
Emperor  Joseph  (February  20,  1790). 

The  decrees  of  religious  toleration  and  abolishing  serf- 
dom were  the  most  conspicuous  acts  of  the  reign  of  Joseph ; 


13 


in  both  these  steps  he  followed  the  trend  of  public  opinion^ 
which  was  most  strongly  expressed  by  Voltaire. 

Extension  of  ideas  of  religious  toleration  in  Europe, 
embracing  not  only  the  different  forms  of  Christianity, 
but  also  Judaism:  the  Emperor  Joseph  II,  and  Bernstorff 
in  Denmark,  specifically  abolished  the  disabilities  of  the 
Jews;  Frederick  the  Great  showed  himself  tolerant  to  all 
varieties  of  Christians ;  but  the  most  famous  declarations  of 
toleration,  permitting  both  liberty  of  thought  and  liberty 
of  worship,  were  issued  by  Cathe^rine  II  in  her  instruction 
for  the  making  of  a  new  code  (1766),  which  even  per- 
mitted the  Muhammadans  to  build  mosques,  and  by  Joseph 
II  in  his  Edict  of  Toleration  (October  13,  1781). 

Deliberate  steps  taken  to  diminish  the  wealth  and  power 
of  the  Church  in  Roman  Catholic  states:  illustrated  by 
the  combined  attack  upon  the  Jesuits,  and  by  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  Inquisition  in  Parma  (1768),  in  Lombardy 
(1775),  in  Tuscany  (1782),  in  Sicily  (1782),  and  its  modi- 
fication in  Portugal  (1769),  and  by  the  measures  taken  for 
reducing  the  number  of  bishops  and  monks,  by  the  Em- 
peror Joseph  II,  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  of  Tuscany, 
Tanucci,  and  the  Elector  Charles  Theodore  of  Bavaria, 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

There  is  very  little  in  English  upon  the  Emperor  Joseph,  but 
reference  may  be  made  to  J.  F.  Bright,  '  *  Joseph  II, ' '  to  Coxe,  ' '  His- 
tory of  the  House  of  Austria,"  and  to  the  essay  by  E.  A.  Freeman 
in  his  ''Historical  Essays.'' 


14 
LECTURE  FIVE. 

The  Despots  and  their  Ministers  in  Southern  Europe 
the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  of  Tuscany,  Tanucci 
in  Naples,  Charles  III  of  Spain, 
Pombal  in  Portugal. 

Italy  in  the  eighteenth  century;  the  opportunities  for 
enlightened  despotism;  the  various  states  of  Italy;  absence 
of  national  spirit ;  the  curious  paradox  of  the  enlightened 
government  of  two  of  Maria  Theresa's  sons  in  Italy,  of 
the  Archduke  Leopold,  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  and  of 
the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  Governor-General  of  Lombardy, 
and  of  the  dismissal  of  enlightened  ministers  through  the 
influence  of  two  of  Maria  Theresa's  daughters,  Maria  Caro- 
lina, Queen  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  and  Maria  Amelia,  Duch- 
ess of  Parma;  the  absence  of  enlightenment  in  the  two 
great  Italian  Republics,  Venice  and  Genoa;  efforts  of  Pope 
Pius  VI  to  improve  conditions  in  the  States  of  the  Church ; 
the  government  of  Victor  Amadeus  III,  King  of  Sardinia 
(1773-1796). 

The  administration  of  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  of 
Tuscany,  second  son  of  Maria  Theresa  (1765-90)  ;  his  re- 
forms; his  code  of  laws;  he  reduced  the  number  of  bish- 
oprics and  monasteries ;  he  improved  the  material  condition  , 
of  Tuscany;  his  administrative  reforms;  his  judicial  re- 
forms; he  adopted  the  economic  ideas  of  the  Physiocrats 
and  abolished  all  restrictions  on  industry  and  commerce; 
his  patronage  of  higher  education;  he  founded  the  pros 
perity  of  Leghorn ;  he  disbanded  his  army ;  the  Grand  Duke 
Leopold  the  most  enlightened  of  the  benevolent  despots. 

The  reign  of  Don  Philip,  Duke  of  Parma  (1749-65)  ; 
the  administration  of  Du  Tillot,  Marquis  of  Felino  (b.  1711, 
d.  1774)  ;  his  reforms;  his  patronage  of  higher  education; 
his  action  against  the  monasteries;  his  encouragement  of 
manufactures;  the  reign  of  Don  Ferdinand  (1765-1802)  ; 


15 


Du  Tillot's  scheme  of  marrying  him  to  the  heiress  of  Mo- 
dena  foiled;  Du  Tillot's  struggle  with  the  Papacy  and  suj)- 
pression  of  the  Jesuits;  he  abolished  the  Inquisition  and 
reorganized  the  University  of  Parma  (1768)  ;  Don  Ferdi- 
nand married  Maria  Amelia,  daughter  of  Maria  Theresn 
(1769)  ;  dismissal  of  Du  Tillot  by  the  influence  of  the 
Duchess  (1771)  ;  greatness  of  Du  Tillot;  ^'a  great  minister 
of  a  little  state." 

The  Two  Sicilies :  the  government  of  Don  Carlos,  after- 
wards Charles  III  of  Spain  (1735-59)  ;  the  administration 
of  Tanucci  (b.  1698,  d.  1783),  one  of  the  most  enlightened 
ministers  of  his  time ;  he  abolished  feudalism  in  Naples ;  his 
attempt  to  reform  the  laws;  his  encouragement  of  art  and 
education ;  his  action  against  the  power  of  the  Church ; 
Charles  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  Spain  gave  Naples 
and  Sicily  to  his  third  son,  Ferdinand  IV  (1751-1825)  : 
during  the  minority  of  the  young  king,  Tanucci  remained 
in  power;  he  continued  his  reforms;  he  cooperated  in  the 
suppression  of  the  Jesuits  and  occupied  Benevento  and 
Ponte  Corvo  (1769)  ;  his  struggle  with  the  Papacy  and 
suppression  of  useless  bishoprics;  as  a  result  of  his  mar- 
riage (1768)  with  Maria  Carolina,  daughter  of  Maria  The- 
resa, the  king  dismissed  Tanucci  (1776)  ;  supremacy  of  the 
Queen;  backwardness  of  the  island  of  Sicily;  its  ''Parlia- 
ment"; failure  of  the  attempted  reforms  of  Domenico  Ca- 
racciolo  (1781). 

Spain  in  the  eighteenth  century:  poverty  and  exhaus- 
tion, material  and  intellectual,  of  the  country;  character 
of  the  government  of  the  Bourbon  kings  of  Spain ;  the  royal 
revenue  derived  from  the  Spanish  colonies  in  America; 
their  misgovernment ;  attempts  made  to  maintain  a  strong 
navy;  abandonment  of  commerce. 

The  reign  of  Charles  III,  formerly  King  of  Naples  and 
Sicily  (1759-88)  :  Charles  III  one  of  the  enlightened  des- 
pots; his  efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  Spain;  his 
difficulties;  excellence  of  his  ministers;  administrative  re- 


16 


forms  of  Squillacci  (1759-66)  ;  their  unpopularity;  forced 
from  office  by  a  riot  at  Madrid;  Aranda  (b.  1718,  d.  1799) 
and  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits;  his  internal  administra- 
tion (1766-73)  ;  its  spirit  of  progress  carried  on  by  Florida 
Blanca  (1773-92)  ;  their  belief  in  autocracy  and  central- 
ization ;  O  'Reilly  reformed  the  army  and  rebuilt  the  navy ; 
Campomanes  established  a  national  system  of  education, 
and  with  Jovellanos  reformed  the  judicial  system  and  intro- 
duced the  ideas  of  the  political  economists;  Cabarrus 
founded  the  Bank  of  St.  Charles  (1782),  and  established 
a  national  system  of  credit;  revival  of  commerce  after 
throwing  open  trade  with  America  to  all  Spanish  ports; 
reform  of  the  currency;  encouragement  of  public  works 
and  improvement  of  agriculture;  endeavor  of  Olavide  to 
restore  prosperity  in  Andalusia;  his  overthrow  by  the  In- 
quisition (1776)  ;  death  of  Charles  III  (December  14, 1788). 
The  reign  of  Joseph,  King  of  Portugal  (1750-77) ;  the 
earthquake  at  Lisbon  (November  1,  1755)  ;  the  administra- 
tion of  Pombal  (b.  1699,  d.  1782),  one  of  the  enlightened 
ministers  of  the  eighteenth  century;  his  internal  policy 
and  reforms ;  his  belief  in  autocracy ;  Pombal  took  the  lead 
in  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus;  he  abolished 
slavery  in  Portugal  (May  25,  1773),  but  maintained  negro 
slavery  in  Brazil;  he  reformed  the  administration  and  the 
judicial  system;  he  encouraged  trade  and  manufactures; 
he  promoted  higher  education,  founded  more  than  800 
schools,  and  reorganized  the  University  of  Coimbra;  dis- 
missal of  Pombal  (1777). 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

Some  account  of  the  reforms  of  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold  can  be 
found  in  H.  E.  Napier,  ''Florentine  History/'  of  the  reforms  of 
Tanucei  in  Colletta,  "History  of  Naples,"  translated  into  English 
by  Horner,  of  the  reforms  of  Charles  III  in  Coxe,  "Memoirs  of  the 
Kings  of  Spain  of  the  House  of  Bourbon,"  and  in  M.  A.  S.  Hume, 
"Spain,  Its  Greatness  and  Decay,"  and  of  the  reforms  in  Portugal 
in  Morse  Stephens,  ' '  Story  of  Portugal ' '  and  in  J.  Smith,  ' '  Memoirs 
of  the  Marquis  of  Pombal." 


17 
LECTURE  SIX. 

The  Despots  and  their  Ministers  in  Northern  Europe ; 

Gustavus  III  of  Sweden,  Struensee  and 

Bernstorff  in  Denmark,  the  Margrave 

Charles  Frederick  of  Baden. 

The  enlightened  despotism  in  northern  Europe  and  in 
Germany,  outside  of  the  Prussian  and  Austrian  dominions. 
The  reign  of  Gustavus  III  of  Sweden  (1771-92)  ;  his 
character  and  education;  his  travels;  his  attachment  to 
France;  his  adoption  of  the  theory  of  enlightened  des- 
potism; supported  by  Vergennes,  the  French  ambassador 
to  Sweden,  by  a  coup  d'etat  (August  19,  1772)  he  destroyed 
the  power  of  the  Senate  and  assumed  all  executive  au- 
thority, leaving  the  control  of  taxation  to  the  Estates;  his 
internal  policy;  sweeping  reforms;  he  abolished  torture, 
encouraged  commerce,  improved  the  administration  and 
suppressed  the  censorship  of  the  press ;  his  difficulties  with 
the  Estates;  his  autocratic  actions. 

The  foreign  policy  of  Gustavus  III;  he  joined  the 
Armed  Neutrality  (1780)  ;  to  win  national  support  he  at- 
tacked Russia  (1788)  ;  misbehavior  of  the  Swedish  army 
in  Finland;  the  malcontents  led  by  the  king's  brother, 
Charles,  Duke  of  Sudermania;  Sweden  attacked  by  Den- 
mark (1788)  ;  coup  d'etat  of  1789  (February  20)  ;  Gus- 
tavus declared  a  new  fundamental  law  of  Sweden,  that  'Hhe 
King  shall  administer  the  affairs  of  State  as  he  thinks 
best";  assassination  of  Gustavus  III  (1792). 

Claims  of  Gustavus  III  to  be  considered  a  typical  en- 
lightened despot  of  the  18th  century. 

Reign  of  Christian  VII,  King  of  Denmark  (1766-1808)  : 
Struensee  (b.  1737)  made  chief  minister  (1770)  ;  his  char- 
acter; his  philosophical  ideas  and  use  of  his  power;  he 
represented  the  German,  philosophical  and  sweeping  re- 
form party;   he  suppressed  the  censorship   of  the   press, 


18 


abolished  the  Council  of  State,  reorganized  the  army,  estab- 
lished religious  toleration,  simplified  the  collection  of  the 
revenue,  encouraged  education  and  reformed  the  law  and 
the  judicial  administration;  Struensee  accused  of  being  too 
intimate  with  the  Queen,  Caroline  Matilda,  sister  of  George 
III  of  England ;  a  conspiracy  formed  against  him ;  he  was 
arrested  (January  17,  1772)  and  executed  (April  28,  1772). 

Andrew  Bernstorff  (b.  1735,  d.  1797),  chief  minister; 
in  foreign  affairs  he  maintained  the  English  alliance;  in 
internal  affairs  he  carried  out  gradual  reforms;  insanity 
of  the  King;  the  Queen  Dowager  forced  Bernstorff  to  re- 
sign (1780),  and  called  Guldberg  to  office;  Denmark 
joined  the  Armed  Neutrality  (1780)  ;  the  Crown  Prince 
Frederick  seized  the  government  (1784)  and  recalled 
Bernstorff  to  office;  the  reforms  of  Bernstorff;  he  prohib- 
ited the  negro  slave  trade  and  (June  20,  1788)  finally  abol- 
ished serfdom  in  Denmark ;  the  Jews  allowed  the  rights  of 
citizens;  by  an  arrangement  with  Russia,  Denmark  at- 
tacked Sweden  in  1788,  but  peace  was  made  the  same  year 
by  the  intervention  of  the  Triple  Alliance. 

Imitation  of  the  splendor  and  despotism  of  Louis  XIV 
almost  universal  among  German  princes  during  the  first 
half  of  the  18th  century;  followed  during  the  second  half 
by  a  general  adherence  to  the  ideas  of  enlightened  despot- 
ism; influence  of  Frederick  the  Great  in  bringing  about 
this  change. 

The  most  remarkable  enlightened  despot  in  Germany 
was  Charles  Frederick  (b.  1728,  d.  1811),  Margrave  of 
Baden-Baden  and  Baden-Durlach ;  his  writings  on  political 
economy  and  attempt  to  put  physiocratic  ideas  into  practice ; 
he  abolished  serfdom  (July  23,  1783)  and  established  a 
scheme  of  primary  education;  among  other  princes  simi- 
larly enlightened  may  be  noted  Maximilian  Joseph,  Elector 
of  Bavaria,  a  great  law  reformer  and  codifier,  and  Charles 
Theodore,  Elector  Palatine  and  Elector  of  Bavaria,  who 
suppressed  many  convents,  and,  with  the  help  of  Count 


19 


Eumford  (b.  1753,  d.  1814),  promoted  reforms,  but  who 
showed  intolerance  to  Protestants;  Frederick  Augustus, 
Elector  of  Saxony ;  Clement  Wenceslas  of  Saxony,  Elector- 
Archbishop  of  Treves,  and  the  Archduke  Maximilian, 
Elector-Archbishop  of  Cologne,  who  were  both  tolerant 
rulers ;  Franz  Ludwig  von  Erthal,  Bishop  of  Bamberg  and 
Wurtzburg;  and  Fiirstenberg,  who  administered  the  bish- 
opric of  Miinster  for  many  years. 

Although  government  in  the  larger  states  of  Germany 
was  administered  on  enlightened  principles  towards  the 
close  of  the  18th  century,  the  government  of  the  smaller 
principalities  was  generally  oppressive. 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

For  the  reforms  in  Sweden  see  E.  N.  Bain,  ' '  Gustavus  III  and  his 
Contemporaries ; ' '  there  is  no  book  in  English  devoted  to  the  Danish 
reforms  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  the  Struensee  episode  is  dis- 
cussed in  Wraxall,  ''Life  and  Times  of  Caroline  Matilda,  Queen  of 
Denmark ; ' '  though  somewhat  old  fashioned,  reference  may  be  made 
for  the  reforms  in  Germany  to  the  translation  of  Schlosser,  ''His- 
tory of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  and  something  may  be  gathered 
from  the  opening  pages  of  J.  E.  Seeley,  ' '  Life  and  Times  of  Stein. '  '• 


LECTURE  SEVEN. 

Voltaire,  the  Champion  of  Humanitarianism. 

The  development  of  the  spirit  of  humanitarianism  in 
the  eighteenth  century;  contrast  between  the  duty  of  serv- 
ing humanity  from  the  impulse  of  religion. and  from  the 
instincts  of  brotherhood. 

The  humanitarian  trend  of  the  literature  and  the 
philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century;  the  growth  of  edu- 
cated public  opinion;  the  European  character  of  public 
opinion;  the  influence  of  the  great  French  writers. 

Voltaire,  the  champion  of  humanitarianism ;  his  opposi- 
tion to  revealed  religion;  the  character  of  his  scepticism; 


20 


the  reality  of  his  love  for  humanity ;  his  courage  in  fighting 
for  the  rights  of  the  individual  and  for  religious  tolerance. 

Frangois  Marie  Arouet  de  Voltaire  (born  February  20, 
1694,  died  May  30,  1778)  ;  his  family,  education  and  early 
life;  his  imprisonment  in  the  Bastille  (1717-1718)  ;  his  first 
dramas  and  his  "Henriade";  his  visit  to  England  (1726- 
1729). 

The  fame  of  Voltaire ;  his  correspondence  with  the  great 
figures  of  the  eighteenth  century,  notably  with  Frederick 
the  Great  and  Pope  Benedict  XIV;  his  residence  at  the 
Court  of  Prussia  (1749-1753)  ;  his  latter  years  at  Ferney; 
his  final  visit  to  Paris  (1778)  and  death  (May  30,  1778). 

The  fame  of  Voltaire  as  a  man  of  letters  has  obscured 
his  glory  as  a  champion  of  humanity;  his  attacks  on  serf- 
dom, aroused  by  the  existence  of  the  only  serfs  in  France, 
on  the  lands  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Claude  in  the  Jura;  his 
zeal  for  religious  toleration  shown  in  the  part  he  took  with 
regard  to  the  cases  of  Calas  and  Labarre;  his  ardent  sup- 
port of  Beccaria's  denunciation  of  cruel  punishments;  his 
attacks  upon  legal  absurdities ;  his  constant  appeal  to  com- 
mon sense. 

Voltaire's  attitude  upon  politics;  he  did  not  so  much 
care  about  forms  of  government  as  he  did  about  the  duties 
of  governors;  his  friendship  with  kings  and  ministers; 
attitude  of  Frederick,  Catherine  and  Joseph  with  regard  to 
Voltaire. 

Voltaire's  opposition  to  the  more  extreme  ideas  of  the 
Physiocrats ;  his  ' '  The  Man  with  the  Forty  Crowns. ' ' 

Although  Voltaire  was  the  most  brilliant  and  effective 
champion  of  humanitarianism,  there  were  other  writers, 
both  in  France  and  Italy,  who  advocated  the  same  views; 
the  Encyclopaedists ;  Diderot ;  Beccaria ;  Verri ;  the  Mar- 
quis de  Mirabeau. 

Contrast  between  Voltaire  and  Eousseau;  the  practical 
sense  of  Voltaire  contrasted  with  the  hysterical  senti- 
mentality of  Rousseau ;   contrast  between  their  views  on 


21 


government;  the  services  of  Rousseau  to  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation. 

The  curious  fact  that  the  great  French  writers  for 
whose  applause  and  criticism  the  enlightened  despots  and 
their  ministers  looked  were  unable  to  influence  their  own 
government. 

Public  opinion  in  the  eighteenth  century;  its  effective- 
ness; its  international  character;  rapid  spread  of  enlight- 
ened and  humanitarian  ideas;  the  freemasons  and  the  in- 
fluence of  freemasonry. 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

The  best  known  book  in  English  on  Voltaire  is  John  Morley, 
''Life  of  Voltaire/'  which  however  deals  more  with  Voltaire  as  a 
philosopher  than  as  the  champion  of  humanity.  There  are  other  lives 
by  James  Parton  and  E.  B.  Hamley.  But  the  best  way  to  under- 
stand Voltaire  is  to  read  his  own  works  and  for  the  illustration  of 
this  lecture  especially  his  correspondence  with  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe.  There  is  a  brilliant  study  in  French  of  Voltaire  as  a  Euro- 
pean force  by  Arsene  Houssaye,  entitled  ''Le  Eoi  Voltaire." 


LECTURE  EIGHT. 

The  Campaign  against  Serfdom  and  Infringements 
of  Personal  Liberty. 

The  character  of  serfdom  in  Europe  in  the  eighteenth 
century;  it  was  a  relic  of  the  economic  conditions  of  me- 
dieval civilization;  and  its  conditions  differed  greatly  not 
only  in  different  countries  but  in  different  parts  of  the 
same  country;  even  where  serfdom  itself  had  ceased  to 
exist  feudal  conditions  remained  which  made  the  lot  of 
the  farmer  or  agricultural  laborer  very  little  better  than 
that  of  a  serf. 

Distinction  to  be  drawn  between  chattel  slavery  and 
serfdom. 


22 


Serfdom  was  an  incident  of  medieval  agriculture  and 
left  traces  even  where  agricultural  conditions  had  ceased  to 
exist. 

By  the  eighteenth  century  serfdom  had  entirely  dis- 
appeared from  England,  the  Protestant  Netherlands  and 
Sweden,  while  in  Latin  countries,  like  France,  Italy,  Spain 
and  Portugal,  the  personal  disabilities  of  serfdom  had 
ceased  to  exist  but  traces  of  it  remained  in  the  form  of 
restrictions  upon  agriculture. 

Serfdom  was  at  its  worst  in  Germany,  Hungary,  Poland, 
Russia  and  Denmark,  but  even  in  these  countries  there  were 
varying  degrees. 

Where  serfdom  flourished  most  the  serf  could  not 
marry  without  the  leave  of  his  lord,  could  not  leave  his 
village  or  his  farm,  could  not  change  his  occupation,  and 
had  to  work  himself  and  to  force  his  children  to  work  with- 
out pay  in  the  lord's  service  as  laborers  or  domestic 
servants. 

This  was  the  normal  condition  in  the  countries  in  which 
serfdom  flourished ;  in  the  Latin  countries  these  restrictions 
on  personal  liberty  did  not  exist,  but  the  free  peasant  had 
to  cultivate  his  land  according  to  the  traditions  of  feudal- 
ism, had  to  grind  his  grain  at  the  lord's  mill,  had  to  leave 
his  land  at  the  mercy  of  the  lord's  game  and  had  to  perform 
certain  tasks  at  the  load's  command. 

Two  steps  can  be  observed  in  the  reforms  in  this  direc- 
tion, the  one  to  free  the  serf  from  the  degrading  conditions 
of  his  life  and  the  other  to  make  him  owner  of  his  farm. 

Voltaire  the  great  opponent  of  serfdom. 

The  Emperor  Joseph  and  serfdom;  his  decrees  of 
abolition  in  Bohemia  (1781),  in  Carinthia,  Camiola  and 
the  Breisgau  (1782)  and  in  Hungary  (1785)  ;  his  attempt 
to  accompany  the  abolition  of  serfdom  with  the  grant  of 
the  lands  on  which  they  worked  to  the  former  serfs. 

Frederick  the  Great  and  serfdom ;  the  abolition  of  serf- 
dom in  the  royal  demesne;  refusal  to  permit  serfdom  in 


23 


the  new  colonies ;  attempt  to  modify  serfdom  on  the  estates 
of  the  nobles ;  abolition  of  serfdom  in  Silesia  and  Pomerania 
(1763). 

The  Empress  Catherine  and  serfdom;  her  reforms 
affected  rather  the  individual  cases  which  came  under  her 
observation  than  the  general  body  of  the  serfs. 

The  abolition  of  serfdom  in  Denmark  by  Andrew 
Bernstorff  (1788). 

Serfdom  in  Germany;  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in 
Baden  by  the  Margrave  Charles  Frederick  (1783)  ;  its 
modification  in  other  small  states,  notably  in  Brunswick 
by  the  Duke  Charles  William  Ferdinand. 

In  the  Latin  countries  where  there  was  no  serfdom 
many  medieval  restrictions  on  agriculture  were  removed, 
notably  by  Tanuccci  in  Naples  and  Charles  III  in  Spain. 

Closely  connected  with  the  abolition  of  serfdom  was 
the  movement  against  negro  slavery;  Pombal  abolished 
negro  chattel  slavery  in  Portugal  (1773),  but  maintained 
it  in  Brazil;  as  the  century  advanced  there  developed  an 
anti-slavery  spirit,  which  was  essentially  Christian  and 
Quaker  in  England  and  the  American  Colonies,  and  human- 
itarian in  France ;  foundation  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Associa- 
tion in  England  (1783)  and  of  the  Societe  des  Amis  des 
Noirs  in  France  (1788). 

The  movement  against  the  negro  slave  trade  and  the 
horrors  of  ''the  middle  passage" ;  the  slave  trade  prohibited 
by  the  Danish  government  (1784),  but  not  abolished  by 
the  English  government  until  1806. 

The  whole  movement  against  slavery  and  serfdom  indi- 
cated the  growth  of  greater  respect  for  the  liberty  of  the 
individual. 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

The  most  accessible  books  on  this  topic  are  Ingrain,  "History  of 
Slavery''  and  Clarkson,  ''History  of  the  Eise,  Progress  and  Aboli- 
tion of  the  Slave  Trade.''  In  French  Voltaire's  writings  on  the 
serfs  on  the  Abbey  of  St.  Claude  and  Condorcet's  "Eeflections  on 
Negro  Slavery"  are  the  most  characteristic  essays. 


24 
LECTURE  NINE. 

The  Physiocrats;  Attempts  to  Abolish  Restrictions 
on  the  Freedom  of  Industry  and  Trade ;  Turgot. 

The  school  of  political  economists  known  as  the  Physio- 
crats ;  their  fundamental  ideas ;  the  first  single-taxers ;  their 
attitude  with  regard  to  agriculture;  the  outcome  of  their 
single-tax  views  was  opposition  to  all  restraint  on  freedom 
of  trade. 

Although  the  ideas  of  the  Physiocrats  rallied  a  large 
group  of  thinkers  for  freedom  of  trade,  the  movement  for 
freedom  of  labor  developed  independently  of  economic 
theory  and  was  associated  with  the  general  assertion  of  the 
liberty  of  the  individual. 

The  shackles  on  freedom  of  labor  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury came  directly  from  the  medieval  organization  of 
labor;  continued  existence  of  the  guilds,  which  had  done 
good  service  in  the  Middle  Ages;  disappearance  of  the 
guilds  in  the  countries  in  which  industry  had  greatly  de- 
veloped, as  in  England  and  the  Protestant  Netherlands; 
continuance  of  the  guilds  elsewhere. 

The  shackles  on  trade  due  to  the  monopolistic  organiza- 
tion of  trading  companies. 

Services  rendered  by  the  Physiocrats  in  concentrating 
attention  upon  the  evils  of  restrictions  on  labor,  manufac- 
tures and  commerce. 

The  chief  Physiocrats;  Quesnay  (1694-1774)  ;  Vincent 
de  Gournay  (1721-1759)  ;  the  Marquis  de  Mirabeau  (1715- 
1789)  ;  Mercier  de  la  Riviere  (1720-1793)  ;  Dupont  de 
Nemours  (1739-1817)  ;  Adam  Smith  (1723-1790)  was  not 
a  Physiocrat,  but  had  intended  to  dedicate  his  famous 
book  "The  Wealth  of  Nations,"  which  was  published  in 
1776,  to  Quesnay. 

The  attitude  of  the  Physiocrats  with  regard  to  govern- 
ment ;  most  of  them  believed  in  despotism  and  considered 


25 


that  their  ideas  could  best  be  put  into  effect  by  enlightened 
rulers. 

The  attitude  of  the  Physiocrats  with  regard  to  taxation 
was  generally  approved,  but  only  Charles  Frederick  of 
Baden  tried  to  put  them  into  effect;  Joseph  and  Leopold 
adopted  their  ideas  with  regard  to  the  abolition  of  restric- 
tions on  labor  and  trade  but  could  not  go  further;  Fred- 
erick the  Great  was  absolutely  opposed  to  the  new  ideas 
of  political  economy  and  Voltaire  poured  contempt  on  the 
extreme  single-tax  ideas  of  Quesnay. 

The  attempt  of  Turgot  in  the  first  eighteen  months  of 
the  reign  of  Louis  XVI  to  put  the  Physiocratic  ideas  into 
force  in  France ;  his  failure. 

The  reforms  of  Turgot  (b.  1727,  d.  1781)  :  his  previous 
career  and  economic  ideas ;  his  attempts  to  reform  the  finan- 
cial administration;  opposition  to  his  schemes;  he  estab- 
lished internal  free  trade  in  grain  (September  13,  1774), 
and  attacked  all  restrictions  on  freedom  of  labor  and  free- 
dom of  trade;  his  decrees  replacing  the  corvee,  or  forced 
labor  on  the  roads,  by  a  tax  and  abolishing  guilds  passed 
in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  Parlement  of  Paris  (March 
12,  1776)  ;  his  desire  to  overthrow  the  relics  of  feudalism 
and  to  improve  agriculture ;  the  work  of  Malesherbes  (1775- 
76);  his  plan  of  national  education;  dismissal  of  Turgot 
(May  13,  1776). 

Some  of  the  enlightened  despots  were  themselves  dis- 
tinguished members  of  the  Physiocratic  school  like  Charles 
Frederick,  Margrave  of  Baden,  and  the  Grand  Duke  Leo- 
pold of  Tuscany,  while  the  Emperor  Joseph  II  in  Austria, 
Gustavus  III  in  Sweden,  Pombal  in  Portugal,  Campomanes 
and  Jovellanos  in  Spain,  and  the  Bemstorffs  in  Denmark, 
were  partisans  of  the  new  school  of  political  economy. 

BOOKS    EECOMMENDED. 

There  is  an  excellent  little  book  by  H.  Higgs,  ' '  The  Physiocrats, ' ' 
which  can  be  recommended  for  the  study  of  this  school  of  political 
economists,  and  mention  should  be  made  of  W.  E;  Stephens,  ''Life 


26 


and  Times  of  Turgot. "  Turgot's  little  book  ''Eeflections  on  the 
Formation  and  Distribution  of  Eiches"  has  been  translated  into 
English,   1898. 


LECTURE  TEN. 

Efforts  to  Aid  the  Afflicted;  Improvement  in  the 

Treatment  of  the  Insane,  the  Deaf-Mutes 

and  the  Blind;  Hospital  Reform. 

The  humanitarian  movement  of  the  eighteenth  century ; 
tendency  for  the  State  to  undertake  what  had  hitherto 
been  regarded  as  the  duty  of  the  Church  in  caring  for  the 
afflicted;  connection  between  scepticism  in  religion  and  the 
recognition  of  the  fraternal  duties  of  humanity;  the 
humanitarian  writings  of  the  eighteenth  century;  their 
effect  upon  the  enlightened  rulers  and  their  ministers. 

Reform  in  the  treatment  of  the  insane;  the  medieval 
attitude  towards  the  insane  and  the  idiotic;  insanity  and 
idiocy  regarded  as  punishment  inflicted  by  heaven;  the 
treatment  of  those  afflicted  based  upon  the  idea  of  driving 
out  the  devil  by  force  or  upon  treatment  by  prayer. 

The  more  rational  treatment  of  the  insane  as  diseased 
subjects  arose  in  the  eighteenth  century  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  idea  of  demoniacal  possession ;  the  work  of  Vol- 
taire in  combating  the  medieval  theory ;  decree  of  the  Parle- 
ment  of  Paris  declaring  that  insane  persons  were  to  be  con- 
sidered as  diseased  (1768). 

The  first  steps  taken  by  physicians  in  this  direction; 
publication  by  Dr.  Beattie  of  a  treatise  on  madness  in  1758 ; 
his  lectures  on  mental  diseases;  improved  conditions  at  St. 
Luke's  hospital  in  London  over  the  old  practices  at  Bedlam. 

Absence  of  lunatic  asylums  or  special  hospitals  for  the 
insane;  the  insane  and  idiots  were  confined  either  in 
prisons,  or  in  the  general  hospitals,  or  in  monasteries;  the 
abuses  prevalent  in  private  mad  houses. 


27 

Direct  interest  of  the  enlightened  despots;  foundation 
by  the  Emperor  Joseph  of  the  " Narrenthurm "  or  '' Fool's 
Tower"  in  Vienna,  the  first  building  exclusively  devoted  to 
the  insane  in  Central  Europe,  in  1784;  interest  taken  by 
the  Empress  Catherine ;  foundation  of  a  hospital,  with  a 
special  section  for  lunatics,  in  1777 ;  establishment  of  a 
special  building  for  lunatics  in  Moscow. 

Parallel  development  of  improved  treatment  for  the  in- 
sane in  England  and  France;  interest  excited  by  the  in- 
sanity of  George  III;  protests  against  the  barbarity  with 
which  lunatics  were  treated  in  England;  the  establishment 
of  the  York  Ketreat  by  Dr.  William  Tuke  in  1792 ;  separa- 
tion of  lunatics  from  the  sick  in  Paris;  the  regulations  of 
Dr.  Colombier  (1785)  ;  the  work  of  Dr.  Pinel  (1745- 
1826)  ;  publication  of  his  treatise  on  mental  alienation 
(1791)  ;  his  introduction  of  kind  treatment  of  the  insane 
at  the  Bicetre  (1793)  and  the  Salpetriere  (1795)  ;  the  re- 
forms of  Tuke  and  Pinel  independent  of  each  other. 

Influence  of  Pinel  in  Germany;  the  work  of  Dr.  Hein- 
roth,  a  Saxon  physician ;  leadership  of  Saxony  in  the  re- 
formed treatment  of  the  insane  in  Germany;  Heinroth's 
lectures  at  the  University  of  Leipzig;  establishment  of 
<;urative  asylums  at  Neu  Ruppen  (1801)  and  Sonnenstein 
(1806). 

The  distinction  between  lunatics  and  idiots  first  clearly 
made  by  Dr.  Esquirol  (1772-1840)  ;  the  treatment  of  idiots 
in  the  village  of  Gheel,  near  Antwerp. 

Recognition  of  the  duty  of  the  State  to  care  for  those 
partially  afflicted  and  deprived  of  the  rights  of  humanity, 
such  as  the  deaf-mutes  and  the  blind. 

Early  attempts  to  relieve  the  helplessness  of  deaf- 
mutes  ;  interest  taken  in  deaf -mutism ;  the  establishment  of 
private  schools  for  wealthy  patients  by  Amman  in  Amster- 
dam, by  Pereira  in  Paris  and  by  Heinicke  at  Leipzig;  the 
work  of  the  Abbe  de  I'Epee  who  established  a  school  for 
<leaf -mutes   as   a   charitable   institution;    his   system   and 


28 


method  of  instruction ;  his  school  subsidized  by  Louis  XVI 
(1778)  ;  the  visit  of  Joseph  II  and  establishment  of  a 
school  for  deaf-mutes  along  the  lines  of  I'Epee's  school  in 
Vienna ;  spread  of  scientific  instruction  for  deaf-mutes  over 
Europe;  the  Abbe  Sicard  (1742-1822). 

Organized  work  for  the  relief  of  the  blind;  Diderot's 
work  in  this  direction ;  the  career  of  Valentin  Haiiy  ( 1745- 
1822)  ;  his  invention  of  raised  letters  and  figures;  establish- 
ment of  his  school  for  the  blind  (1784)  ;  influence  of  his 
''Essay  on  the  Education  of  the  Blind,"  published  in 
1786;  establishment  of  schools  for  the  indigent  blind  at 
Liverpool  (1791),  and  Edinburgh  (1793),  at  Vienna 
(1804),  Copenhagen  (1807)  and  at  Dresden  and  Amster- 
dam (1808)  ;  improvements  made  in  the  raised  type  by 
James  Gall,  Charles  Barbier  and  Louis  Braille. 

Care  of  the  sick  was,  during  the  Middle  Ages,  left  to 
religious  foundations;  many  of  these  were  very  rich,  but 
the  treatment  of  the  patients  was  not  efficient;  patients 
from  all  sorts  of  disease  and  in  all  stages  of  disease  were 
mingled  together  and  there  was  no  efficient  medical  treat- 
ment or  nursing;  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  first  efforts 
were  made  to  develop  State  construction  and  inspection  of 
hospitals  and  the  first  attempts  to  set  apart  wards  for  dif- 
ferent diseases. 

The  most  famous  foundation  of  the  eighteenth  century 
was  the  General  Hospital  at  Vienna,  founded  by  the  Em- 
peror Joseph  in  1784  with  five  departments;  among  other 
State  hospitals  should  be  noted  those  founded  by  Charles 
III  at  Naples  (1750),  at  Munich  (1742),  at  Wurtzburg 
and  Bamberg  (1787),  at  Moscow  (1785),  at  Stockholm 
(1752)  and  at  Brussels  (1713). 

The  general  discussion  of  hospital  reform;  the  contro- 
versy as  to  large  and  small  hospitals ;  the  controversy  as  to 
State  and  religious  hospitals;  the  discussion  of  hospital 
architecture  roused  by  the  burning  of  the  Hotel-Dieu  at 
Paris  (1772)  ;  Antoine  Petit 's  book  on  the  construction  of 


29 

hospitals    (1774)  ;  the  development   of  country  hospitals, 
especially  in  Sweden  (1756)  and  Russia  (1775.) 

General  recognition  in  the  eighteenth  century  of  the 
duty  of  the  State  to  the  afflicted. 

BOOKS  EECOMMENDED. 

It  is  difl&cult  to  recommend  books  covering  these  topics,  but  refer- 
ence may  be  made  to  H.  C.  Burdett,  ''Hospitals  and  Asylums  of  the 
World,"  4  vols.,  London,  1891-93,  which  contains  extensive  biblio- 
graphies. 


LECTURE  ELEVEN. 

Efforts  to  Aid  the  Unfortunate ;  Prison  Reform ; 

the  Problem  of  Mendicancy;  Count 

Rumford  in  Bavaria. 

Humanitarian  efforts  to  relieve  the  criminal  and  pauper 
classes  in  the  eighteenth  century;  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  society  was  responsible  for  crime  and  poverty;  atten- 
tion paid  by  enlightened  despots  and  ministers  to  the 
criminal  and  pauper  classes. 

Examination  of  the  theory  of  punishment  for  crime; 
great  and  instant  effect  of  Beccaria's  work  on  ''Crimes 
and  Punishments,"  published  in  1764;  Voltaire's  advo- 
cacy of  Beccaria's  ideas;  reform  in  criminal  procedure 
undertaken  by  the  Empress  Catherine  in  particular;  and 
by  the  other  enlightened  despots;  the  punishment  of  death 
abolished  in  Tuscany  by  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold. 

Reform  in  criminal  procedure;  abolition  of  torture  as 
a  means  of  extracting  evidence;  prominence  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  Gustavus  III  of  Sweden,  and  Frederick  Aiigustus 
of  Saxony  in  this  line  of  reform ;  Beccaria  and  Voltaire  on 
torture. 

Prison  reform;  the  work  of  John  Howard  (1726-1790)  ; 
his  travels  in  Europe;  his  interviews  with  the  Empress 
Catherine  and  the  Emperor  Joseph;  his  books  on  "The 


30 


State  of  Prisons"  (1777),  (1780),  (1784),  and  on  ''The 
Principal  Lazarettos  in  Europe"  (1789)  ;  horrible  condi- 
tion of  the  prisons  of  Europe  as  described  by  Howard;  the 
confusion  between  debtors  and  criminals;  the  spread  of 
gaol  fever;  the  evil  of  turnkeys'  fees;  effect  of  Howard's 
life  and  work. 

Reforms  in  prison  administration;  the  building  of 
model  prisons  in  England. 

The  development  of  prison  architecture  and  of  the  peni- 
tentiary system;  the  work  of  Vilain  XIIII  (1712-1777)  ; 
the  building  of  the  Penitentiary  at  Ghent  (1772). 

The  problem  of  the  treatment  of  the  poor  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century;  during  the  Middle  Ages  poverty  was  not 
regarded  as  a  curse  and  begging  was  encouraged  rather 
than  discouraged;  the  begging  friars  and  the  begging 
students. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  distinction  was  made  between 
the  able-bodied  poor,  who  were  to  be  forced  to  work,  and 
the  afflicted  poor,  for  whom  the  State  had  to  provide;  the 
campaign  against  mendicity  or  begging  was  supple- 
mented by  the  establishment  of  work-houses  and  poor- 
houses. 

In  France  decrees  against  mendicity  in  1685,  1720  and 
1724  were  followed  up  by  the  establishment  of  houses  of 
correction  for  the  able-bodied  paupers  in  1764  and  1767 ; 
in  Spain  special  decrees  against  mendicity  were  passed  in 
1745,  1751,  1759  and  1775  and  public  relief  was  centralized 
by  Campomanes  in  1778 ;  a  work-house  was  established  in 
Berlin  by  Frederick  the  Great  in  1742;  the  most  complete 
legislation  was  that  of  Joseph  II,  who  forbade  begging  in 
1783  and  in  the  same  year  established  homes  for  the  desti- 
tute poor  in  Vienna,  which  were  followed  by  similar  homes 
in  Bohemia,  Galicia  and  other  provinces. 

The  most  famous  campaign  against  mendicity  under- 
taken in  Bavaria  by  Benjamin  Thompson,  Count  Rumford 
(1753-1814)  ;  the.  career  of  Count  Rumford;  the  policy  of 


31 

the  Elector  Charles  Theodore  of  Bavaria;  Count  Rumford's 
writings  on  mendicity ;  his  celebrated  arrest  of  all  the  beg- 
gars in  Bavaria  on  January  1,  1790;  establishment  of  the 
House  of  Industry  at  Munich. 

Earnest  efforts  of  all  the  enlightened  despots  and  their 
ministers  to  relieve  poverty. 


LECTURE  TWELVE. 

Development  of  Education ;  Organization  of  Charity; 
the  Transition  from  Medieval  to  Modern  Society. 

Recognition  by  the  enlightened  despots  and  their  min- 
isters of  the  importance  of  education  and  particularly  of 
primary  education. 

Education  in  the  Middle  Ages  regarded  as  one  of  the 
functions  of  the  Church  in  Catholic  countries;  and  after 
the  Reformation  left  to  religious  organizations  in  Protes- 
tant countries;  change  of  point  of  view  in  the  eighteenth 
century;  education  regarded  as  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
State. 

Reform  in  educational  theory ;  the  writings  of  Rousseau, 
Basedow,  and  Pestalozzi. 

Systems  of  primary  education  attempted  by  the  Em- 
peror Joseph  in  the  Austrian  dominions  out  of  the  funds 
procured  by  the  suppression  of  monasteries;  by  Frederick 
the  Great  in  Prussia;  by  the  Margrave  Charles  Frederick 
in  Baden;  by  Campomanes  in  Spain;  the  plan  of  Males- 
herbes,  the  colleague  of  Turgot,  for  a  system  of  national 
education  in  France. 

Secondary  education  in  Europe  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury; establishment  of  special  schools  by  the  Empress 
Catherine  and  the  Emperor  Joseph. 


32 


Interest  taken  in  higher  education;  establishment  of  or 
reorganization  of  universities;  foundation  of  the  Universi- 
ties of  Gottingen  (1737)  ;  of  Bonn  (1777)  ;  and  of  Brussels 
(1781)  ;  reorganization  of  the  Universities  of  Coimbra  in 
Portugal  by  Pombal,  of  Siena  in  Tuscany  by  Leopold,  of 
Parma  by  Du  Tillot  and  of  Salamanca  by  Charles  III. 

Establishment  of  special  schools;  the  civil  engineering 
school  at  Paris  (1747)  ;  the  school  of  mines  at  Freiberg  in 
Saxony  (1765). 

The  encouragement  of  literature,  science  and  art 
through  the  maintenance  of  Academies  by  the  enlightened 
despots;  the  eighteenth  century,  the  age  of  Academies; 
special  interest  of  Frederick  and  Catherine  in  this  direc- 
tion. 

Freedom  of  the  press  established  by  Struensee  in  Den- 
mark (1770),  by  Gustavus  III  in  Sweden  (1784)  and  by 
the  Emperor  Joseph  (1783)  ;  diminution  of  the  power  of 
the  censorship  of  the  press  in  other  countries. 

State  organization  of  charity  in  the  eighteenth  century ; 
establishment  of  Boards  of  Charity  in  Russia  (1775)  to 
take  charge  of  the  sick  poor;  the  general  trend  towards 
state  supervision  of  charitable  funds  which  had  been  be- 
queathed by  pious  founders  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  establishment  of  orphan  asylums,  foundling  hos- 
pitals and  Magdalen  hospitals  in  various  countries  in  Eu- 
rope in  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  transition  of  medieval  to  modern  society  was 
effected  in  Europe  by  the  reforms  of  the  enlightened  des- 
pots and  their  joint  recognition  of  new  standards  of  adminis- 
tration and  of  the  claims  of  humanity ;  therefore  the  civili- 
zation of  continental  Europe  is  dominated  by  the  conti- 
nental bureaucracies;  therefore  the  keynote  of  modern 
European  civilization  is  bureaucratic ;  contrast  between  the 
continental  European^  and  the  English  and  American  sys- 
tems. 


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